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nitre 'ate atrnt @fitte WILLIAM l). wlLSGN, 0F WATER'IOWN, YORK.

Letters Patent No. 78,34/7, dated fag/ 26, 1868.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY OONCERN:

Beit known that I, WILLIAM D. W'ILSON, of Watertown, in the State -of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Harpoon Hay-Forks; and I do hereby declare that the following is a'full, clear,

and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and letters of reference marked thereon, making a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 represents a longitudinal central section. Figure 2 a horizontal section on the line az, fig. 1. This invention belongs to that class of devices used for spearing hay or other like crop, which are provided with prongs arranged so as to remain within the body of the instrument until after it has been forced into the vegetable mass, and then to partially emerge and bury themselves in the said mass, so that a large quantity ol' the latter may be taken up by the fork onits withdrawal.

Toenablc those skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe its consti-action arid operation.

Sinxilar letters in the drawings refer to like parts.

A represents a metallic tube of suitable size,provided,l at its lower end, with a casing, a, in which are two curved passages, a a', wherein the prongs b move. The said casing has n. bayonet-point with four concave sides, .c c, the., that the instrument may be forced into the vegetable rnatter with greater ease.

Ilriction-rollors, cZcZ, may be so placed in thc passages a as to facilitate the movement of the prongs b.

The upper and inner ends of the said prongs are suitably connected with the lower extremity of a rod, d, within the tube A, the upper end of which rod is attached to a plug, e, which nearly fills said tube, and has a head, e. A spiral spring, t, is coiled around'thc rod d, between the plug e and casing a, which spring tends to force the rod ci and plug e toward the upper end of the tube, and consequently to draw the prongs b within the casing, the stops -L't' in the passage a limiting the movement of these parts duc to the pressure of thc spring .by

. catching the iriner ends ot` the prongs.

In a recess in the plug e is pivoted a lever, Zr, with a. rounded stop, le. The lever Zc receives a constant pressure outward from a. spring, Zr. A tripping-lever, Z, also provided with a circular head, Z, is suitably attached to tbc outside of the tube A, in which there is a slot for the lever k to project through. The casing a having been inserted in a mass of. hay, the plug c is forced down by hand, causing the prongs Zw to emerge and enter the vegetable matter, said downward movement being continued until the head of the lever lc passes below` the head of the lever Z, when thc stop cis immediately forced'through the slot in the tube by the pressure of the spring Zr, and,.passing under the head Z', is caught and held there. The instrument is then withdrawn i with the hay taken up by the prongs'b.

To drop the loadpa cord, m, attached to the upper part of the tripping-lever Z, is pulled downward, causingv the circular head Z to rotate on the rounded stop Zt', and forcing the latter in with thc least possible friction.

A`n arm, Z, projects downward beyond the circular head Z', said arm being furnished with a screw,'Z, which may be set so `as to come in contact with the stop Zt at any desired moment during the rotation of the head Z', and carry said stop out ot' contact with the head Z, so as to releasc'the spiral spring i and withdraw thc prongs from their load. A

. Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosccure by Letters latent, is-

1. The levers Zr Z,`in combination with the plug e, as and for the purpose set forth. 2. The lovers Zr Z, in combination with the arm Z and screw Z", in manner described.

WM. ,D. WILSON.

Witnesses:

Ann. CoA'rns, M. H. Cnoss. 

